Do Perfect Suppliers Exist?

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A Perfect Failure Part 4: Expecting Your Suppliers to
be Perfect

🕒 2 min read


By Frank Hurtte

Expecting perfection from suppliers is like expecting the weather forecast to be right every day. Helpful, usually. Perfect, never.

Some salespeople expect the regional sales manager to know every answer, the application engineer to solve technical problems with a snap of the fingers, and the factory to deliver every order the next day, come rain, shine, or global supply-chain crisis.

That's a fairy tale, not a reality. I've worked with hundreds of manufacturer representatives over my career. A few were exceptional. A few probably couldn't be trusted to water houseplants. Most fell somewhere in between. The common denominator wasn't perfection. They were all human beings trying to serve customers in an imperfect world.

Customers don't judge us by whether our suppliers occasionally stumble. They judge us by how well we respond when the organic material hits the rotating blades.

Great salespeople are outstanding coordinators. They know who to call. They know how to keep customers informed. They know how to manage expectations instead of pretending problems don't exist.

To Be Perfectly Frank...

Your customers don't need perfect suppliers. They need a dependable guide.


Catch up on Part 3: Expect Your Company to Be Perfect. 

Next week, Part 5: Search for the Perfect Product. 


TL;DR

Suppliers aren't perfect. Customers don't expect them to be. What customers need: a sales team that coordinates well, manages expectations, and keeps them informed when problems arise.




About the Author

Frank Hurtte is the Founding Partner of River Heights Consulting. With more than 40 years of experience in the distribution industry, he’s learned that "perfect suppliers" may not exist, but salespeople who know how to work with imperfect ones can turn challenges into opportunities and create a competitive advantage.






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